After almost 13hrs onboard, I was finally able to stretch myself out as I prepare myself to exit from the plane. It took me another hour to clear all the necessary checks and to collect my baggages. Walking out from the arrival hall, I saw two familiar looking elderly man waiting for me.

"Appa!! Uncle Ken!!" I called out to them so that they can see me walking out.

As the 3 of us walked towards each other, I pushed my trolley forward and stopped just right in front of them. I bowed my head and greeted the two men. Appa gave me a hug while Uncle Ken just patted my head. The 3 of us walked to the entrance as my Appa's driver arrived with the car. I was feeling a bit of jetlag so Appa told me to take a rest while in the car.

The first thing I did went I reached home was to leave Jessica a message, telling her that I'll give her a call once I woke up from my nap later. I must have been too tired since I didn't even hear my phone beeped with a reply from Jessica.

Appa didn't attend work for the whole week so we did a lot of activities together like playing games, going for swims, watching movies and other things. I enjoyed the time spend and was almost tired everyday but I never forget to give Jessica a call at least once a day. Giving text messages to each other was a must. Boredom strike me soon when Appa had to return to the office the following week.

It was already 22nd of December. 3 more days and it'll be Christmas. I was just lazing around in my room after eating my dinner when my phone beeped.

To Jaegi:

Hi Jaegi, what are you doing right now? I'm getting ready to meet Tiff and Taeng for lunch. It should be about 8pm on your side right?

I smiled while I read her message as I counted the time difference between us. It'll be noon of 23rd December in Korea right now.

To Sicababy:

Annyeong, my love. I'm just lazing around on my bed right now. I just had my dinner. Alone. Since Appa had to go back to work today. So I had breakfast, lunch and dinner, all by myself. I stayed at home all day, doing nothing. I'm bored. :(

To Jaegi:

Owww... my poor Jaegi. Why don't you go out and wander around instead of just lazing around at home? Go out and get some fresh air.

To Sicababy:

Says someone who also likes to laze around at home too. Hahahaha.. Maybe I'll go out tomorrow. Enjoy your lunch with TaeNy and send my regards to them okay. Love you, Sicababy.

To Jaegi:

I'll send your regards to them, don't worry. I love you too, Jaegi and I miss you so much. Get some sleep okay. Good night.

I smiled after reading Jessica's last message to me. I had given Jessica a call early this morning at 6am to talk to her for an hour before wishing her goodnight since it was already 11pm in Korea. Putting my phone to one side, I stared at the ceiling and started to think of Omma.

'Omma, when will Appa be strong enough to go back to Korea? I want to bring him to see you at the crematorium. I understand that he still can't accept that you're already gone from this world but he can't avoid it all his life, right? It's been almost 4yrs already. Omma, will you help me to change his heart?'

I closed my eyes and a lone tear trickled down the side of my face as I went off to sleep.

********************************

I woke up to the sound of my alarm at 6am. It's been that way since I came back as that will be the time that I'll give Jessica a call since it'll be just nice time for her to go off to sleep after our talking session. Usually we'll talk for about an hour before both of us will go to sleep. I'll be waken up by my housemaid at around 10am for breakfast.

After breakfast, I decided to drop by at Uncle Ken's fitness centre. I left my house at around noon after packing my boxing gear into a duffel bag ang throwing it into the passenger seat of my Aston Martin car.

After parking the car, I went in to find Uncle Ken in his office. He was surprised to see me there as I jokingly told him that I need to lose some of my fats that I had gained over the week. He told me to go ahead and would join me later once he's done with the paperworks. As I changed into my proper boxing attire, I did a few warm-ups before starting my boxing. It took me just 30mins to be drench in sweat. As I stopped for a break and grabbed my waterbottle, Uncle Ken came up to me, already in his boxing attire.

"So Jae, are we going to just box around or do you want to be my sparring partner?" Uncle Ken asked me.

"Let's go for a match. I've not been able to defeat you ever since I started boxing." I said as I pouted to Uncle Ken who just laughed it off.

We entered the ring and after bowing to each other, we started the match. As expected, Uncle Ken won it but I made him worked hard for his win.

"You showed improvement in your skills, Jae." Uncle Ken said as he took a sip from his bottle.

"But I still can't defeat you." I replied as I leaned against the wall after both of us sat at the bench.

"You should ask your Appa for some pointers. I'm not sure if you know this but your Appa used to be a boxing champion in the university when he was a student there. And for the record, I've never win once against him." Uncle Ken said as he laughed at my shocked face. "Let's go out to eat. All these exercises is making me hungry and I didn't eat any lunch earlier."

After both of us were done washing up and getting ready, we left the centre at around 4pm. With Uncle Ken's recommendation, I drove to a nearby Japanese restaurant. While we were waiting for our food to be served, my phone beeped. It was a message from Jessica, telling me that she had just woke up and would be helping out her Omma to clean up the house and prepare for the Christmas family dinner since it's already the Christmas eve in Korea. Once again, it has became a habit of mine to smile while reading Jessica' message. After typing in a reply, I kept my phone back into my pocket.

"Who was that? I've never seen you smiled so brightly before and it's only a message." Uncle Ken asked.

"It's Jessica." Seeing Uncle Ken's frowning face, I explained further. "She's the girl that I've told you before. The one that I wanted to borrow money from Appa to help her with her arranged marriage."

Uncle Ken nodded his head before he said something that caught my attention. "She's got the same name as my daughter."

Suddenly, something snapped in my head. "Uncle Ken, remember you told me your story about your wife and daughter. There's something that has been bothering me ever since you told me about it." Uncle Ken nodded his head. "Sorry for my ignorance but what's your last name, Uncle Ken?"

Uncle Ken just laughed at me when I shyly scratched the back of my head. "After all this while, you still doesn't know my last name? Should I be disappointed about it, Jae?" Uncle Ken laughed again as I showed him my puppy eyes. "It's Jung. My full name is Ken Jung Young Soo."

I had my jaws dropped as my mind went to an overdrive. 'Jung? Jessica?' I was lost in my own thoughts that I didn't realised our food had arrived. Both of us ate in silence as we were lost in our own thoughts. After 45mins, we were done with eating. We were waiting for our dessert when I braved myself to ask the next question.

"Uncle Ken, does your daughter studies in SM University, taking Fashion Design course, her birthday is in April and she hates cucumber?" Seeing Uncle Ken's shocked face, my heartbeat became faster. "Jessica Jung Sooyeon. Is that your daughter's name?"

"Oh my god, Jae. How did you know all that? Especially the cucumber thing. Sooyeon totally hates it." Uncle Ken replied with a confused look.

"Uncle Ken, Jessica is the girl that I've told you about with regards to the arranged marriage and she's my girlfriend now." I said to a wide-open eyed Uncle Ken.

As Uncle Ken tried to overcome his shocked, I slowly told him everything I knew about what happened to Jessica after he had to leave the family. I could see the changes in Uncle Ken's expression as I realised that he was not aware of what had happened back then. I saw Uncle Ken took a deep breathe as he slumped into his seat. I was about to continue talking when the waiter arrived with the dessert but both of us were too overwhelmed to even touch it.

"Jae, can you drive me back to my fitness centre? There's something that I need to show you."

We left the restaurant without even touching the dessert. Uncle Ken settled the bill while I waited for him in the car. The journey back to the fitness centre was of total silence. We went straight to Uncle Ken's office the moment we arrived. He instantly switched on his laptop as he gestured me to stand beside him. After a while, Uncle Ken showed me the emails that he and Jessica had sent to each other.

"The last email I received from her was when she complained to me about forgetting to wish her happy birthday which was in April. She has never told me anything about the arranged marriage before. I'm.. I'm totally lost at the moment." Uncle Ken sighed again.

"Maybe she doesn't want to burden you or make you feel more guilty about it. She told me before that the reason for you not wanting to come back to the family because you felt embarassed for not being able to take care of your family well." I said as I leaned against the cabinet behind.

"What have I done to my own family, Jae? Causing the ones I loved to suffer so much pain." Uncle Ken's voice started to crack as he tried to hold back his tears.

"Uncle Ken, can I say something?" I saw him nodding his head. "Go back to them. Set things straight. Whatever happened, it's all in the past. You're much more financially stable now. You even plan to open another fitness centre in Korea. You've lost 5yrs of being part of Sica's life. Don't loose anymore of it."

"But how can I just appear back into their lives? After leaving them to deal with all of that nonsenses." Uncle Ken turned around to face me.

"Trust me, Uncle Ken. They'll welcome you with open arms. And don't worry, I'll be there to help you." I smiled at the elderly man whom I've treated like my second dad. "Let me show you something to prove my words."

I took out my phone and checked the time. It's 7pm at the moment which means that in Korea, it'll be 11am. I dialed Jessica's number and put my phone on a speaker mode. After a few rings, she answered her phone with a cheerful voice.

Jessica: Jaegi!! I didn't expect you to call again. Did you miss me so much?

I could hear Jessica giggling at the end of the line as I looked up for a split second to see Uncle Ken smiling at me. Not sure if the smile was because of hearing his daughter's voice or because of the nickname.

Hyun Jae: Sicababy, of course I miss you a lot. Anyway, are you free to talk at the moment?

Jessica: Yes. I just finished cleaning up my room. I still got time to spare until Omma shouts for me.

Another giggle could be heard as Uncle Ken started to lean forward towards my phone that I had placed on his desk.

Hyun Jae: Sica, I'm curious about something. Since Christmas is coming soon, do you have any wish that Santa hasn't grant you yet?

Jessica: Ungranted wish? Wae? Are you planning to be a Santa? But I don't think you'll be able to grant my wish also.

Hyun Jae: Well, you'll never know. Miracles do happen.

Jessica: Cheesy Jaegi, as usual. Anyway, about your question, I've always wish that my Appa would come back to us one day. Omma said that if I was a really good girl and prayed sincerely, my wish would be granted but I guess, I've not been a good girl for the past 5yrs.

I saw that Uncle Ken was about to say something through the phone as I quickly covered his mouth. Giving him an eye signal and shaking my head, Uncle Ken understood that I didn't want him to talk to Jessica at the moment.

Hyun Jae: Maybe Santa needs a longer time to grant your wish, Sicababy. Don't stop hoping for it okay.

Jessica: Don't worry. I won't. I'll keep on hoping until he comes home one day. Omma also said that she's waiting for Appa to come back. If Omma can wait, so can I.

I grabbed my phone and switched it to a normal speaking mode as I walked away from Uncle Ken. I continued talking to Jessica for another 10mins before I finally hanged up my phone. I turned around to see a grinning Uncle Ken.

"Jaegi? Sicababy?" He laughed out loud as I pouted at his teasing remarks. I took a seat on the chair that was facing him as Uncle Ken turned around a photo frame that was on his desk. It was a photo of me with another girl. "Remember her?"

 I stared hard at the photo as I tried to recall. I knew it was a photo of me when I was younger but looking at the girl, I can't recall until I noticed the leopard print dress that the girl was wearing. "Angel with leopard prints!"

Uncle Ken frowned when he heard my answer. He questioned me about my remarks and I explained to him that the girl was the one that I had given my first kiss to. He then broke into a laughing fit as I shyly scratched the back of neck.

"That's Sooyeon or should I say, Sicababy." He laughed again as I was shocked to find out that the girl whom I had given my first kiss was actually Jessica.

Uncle Ken then explained that the photo was taken when both of us were 7yrs old. My family had flown in from Korea to celebrate Christmas with them. "Your family had moved back to Korea when you were 5yrs old. My family went back when Jessica was 10."

I just nodded my head as I was already aware of the facts. I stared at the photo again and smiled. 'No wonder you look like an angel when you fall on me for the very first time. You were my angel since the beginning.' Uncle Ken's voice snapped me back to reality.

"Jae, should I go back to Korea?"

********************************

On Christmas eve, we had a surpised guest over for dinner. Boa-unnie came back from Japan to celebrate Christmas with us. That evening, I called Jessica to wish her a Merry Christmas. We were not able to talk long since she had to leave for the church soon. As I waited for dinner to be served, Boa-unnie came and joined me at the living room.

"So how come my Jae-giya is pouting and looking so lonely at the moment? Missing your girlfriend already?" Bo-unnie teased me as I stole a glance at Appa who was sitting opposite me.

"Stop teasing me and the couch is very big. You don't have to sit so near to me, you know." I tried to shift my position as Boa-unnie purposely leaned on to me.

"Hyun Jae, didn't I tell you to call her as Unnie?" Appa looked at me.

"Eeewwww... Unnie? Anni, anni.." I started to by mouthing the word 'unnie'. "Don't you dare call me by that, Jae-giya. It makes me feel so old."

"See, Appa. I told you she didn't like to be called Unnie. So it's not my fault." Appa just shook his head at me.

I was about to tease Boa-unnie again as I heard the doorbell rang. I rushed to the door to open it and saw Uncle Ken coming in with a big luggage behind him. He smiled at me and walked in, dragging the luggage along.

"Uncle Ken!!" Boa-unnie ran forward to hug the elderly man as I just rolled my eyes at her. Uncle Ken returned her hug before joining Appa in the living room with me and Boa-unnie following suit.

"What's with the luggage, Hyung? Are you planning to go somewhere?" Appa asked.

Before Uncle Ken could give Appa an answer, we were called to the dining table by our housemaid. The 4 of us took our seats with Boa-unnie beside me while Appa was sitting opposite me with Uncle Ken beside him. Everyone was busy scooping their own portion of food until Uncle Ken broke the silence.

"I'm flying back to Korea after this dinner."

Appa had a shocked face while Boa-unnie was looking confused. I just smiled at Uncle Ken.

"What's with the sudden decision, Hyung?" Appa asked as everyone was now looking at Uncle Ken.

"Thanks to Jae, I've realised that my family needs me especially my daughter, Jessica. Actually, I wanted to ask if you would like to follow me back to Korea, Soo Ri? I think it's about time both of us paid a visit to my dongsaeng." Uncle Ken said as he explained everything to Appa and Boa-unnie about the revelation that both of us found out a few days back.

"Oh my god.. Jessica is Uncle Ken's daughter? Daebak!! Isn't she the girl that you fell in love with, Jae-giya?" Boa-unnie turned to ask me as I just nodded my head.

"My daughter is already Jae's girlfriend now." Uncle Ken smiled at me but I was not able to return his smile as my eyes were now focused on Appa's expression which didn't look that good at the moment.

"I'm happy for you, Hyung but I don't think I'll be joining you for the trip." I heard Appa said to Uncle Ken as I felt my heart sank. "And Hyun Jae, I'm quite disappointed with you. If you think that by asking Uncle Ken to ask me to fly back to Korea will allow you to go back there, you are wrong young lady. I thought we've settled this issue already and you already said that you've accepted my decision to stay here for Christmas."

I looked at Appa in disbelief. 'What? Where did that come from? I didn't even know that Uncle Ken had decided to go back to Korea.' As all these thoughts ran through my head, I turned to look at Uncle Ken who was shocked too. I rubbed my temple and took a deep breathe.

"Appa, frankly I didn't even know that Uncle Ken had decided to to back to Korea. All I did was to tell him what I knew about what had happened in Sica's life after I found out that Uncle Ken is her father. If I had not accepted your decision, I won't even be here, Appa. I'm sorry but I don't have anymore appetite for dinner. Please excuse me." I stood up, bowed to everyone and left the dinning area as I walked to my room.

********************************

Uncle Ken's POV:

I was shocked when I heard what Soo Ri said to Jae. I don't even understand where he got that idea. I saw how upset Jae was when she asked to be excused and looking at her forlorn figure going up to her room, I can't help but to feel a bit angry with Soo Ri.

"What was that all about, Soo Ri? How can you just accuse your daughter nonchalantly?"

"I thought she was the one who gave you the idea about flying back to Korea, Hyung. You yourself said that you're thankful to her earlier." Soo Ri replied to me.

"It's because of the phone call that she made to Sooyeon which made me realised that my family is still waiting for my return. Jae doesn't even know that I had decided to return to Korea. When I asked her if I should return to Korea, all she did was smiled and gave me a hug."

"Sorry to interrupt both of you, but who is Sooyeon?" Boa had a confused look as she faced both men.

"Sooyeon is Jessica. My daughter's full name is Jessica Jung Sooyeon." Boa nodded her head after Uncle Ken's explanation. "Boa, can you do me a favour? Please go up and check on Jae. Thanks."

After Boa left the both of us, I turned back to look at Soo Ri who had a guilty face on.

"Soo Ri, can I ask you something?" He nodded his head. "Did Jae explain to you why he wanted you to go back to Korea to celebrate Christmas there?"

"Firstly, she said it was because of the orphanage. She wanted to have a mini celebration there on Christmas eve along with all the kids. Secondly, she said that it's been 4yrs since I went to see Omma so she thought we could visit the crematorium on Christmas Day. Lastly, Jae wanted me to meet Jessica. To see the girl that have brought her so much happiness. That's all that she had explained to me." Soo Ri ended his words.

"And may I know what is stopping you from going there to do all that with her?" I asked Soo Ri as I saw his gaze suddenly became solemn.

"I... I can't face her, Hyung. Even after all these years, I can't believe that she had left us. It's all my fault, my own fault. If I had put aside time to fetch her on that day, she won't have meet with that accident. I'm the reason that she left us. I.. I missed her a lot, Hyung." Soo Ri broke down in front of me as I patted his back.

"It's not your fault, Soo Ri. She was hit by a drunkard while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. There was a lot of witnesses there on that day. Stop blaming yourself. It's been decided by God that it was time for her to go. I know you missed her a lot but so does Jae. She told me that she had visited her Omma regularly when she was in Korea. Jae's a strong kid, Soo Ri. And she needs you to be stronger than her since you're her Appa. You're her only pillar of strength left right now. If you can't learn to accept the past, you will never be ready for the future."

I saw Soo Ri, wiping away his tears as he kept nodding his head as I ended my long speech. I patted his back again and he looked up at me with his swollen eyes.

"I need to make a move to the airport. To tell you the truth, I didn't manage to get a plane ticket yet but I'll just go to the airport and try my luck. Hopefully, I can still get to Korea by 25th night. Think about what I said, Soo Ri and keep in touch okay. Don't worry. I'll still come back after meeting my family since I only intend to be there for a week. Once I've settled all my stuff here  in the States, then I might moved back there permanently."

I bid goodbye to him and dragged my luggage out to hail a cab to the airport.

********************************

Meanwhile,

"Jae-giya, can I come in?" I heard Boa-unnie's voice at the door as I just remained silent on my bed.

My door was not locked as she walked in and sat at the edge of my bed.

"Hey, don't take it to heart. I think Uncle Park had misunderstood the whole situation." Boa-unnie said as she tapped on my left arm.

"It's okay. I'll be fine soon. I just need some time alone." I closed my eyes as silence filled the room.

About 10mins later, I felt a movement from the edge of the bed as I thought that Boa-unnie had decided to leave me alone but I heard a voice that made me opened my eyes immediately as I sat up and leaned against the headrest.

"Hyun Jae. Mianhae. Please forgive Appa for my words earlier. I had misunderstood the interactions between you and Uncle Ken at the dining table."

I just nodded my head as I looked down and avoided his gaze. By then, Boa-unnie had went over to sit at the couch as she made herself comfortable. Appa then took her previous seat by my bed.

"I had a short talk with Uncle Ken just now and he made me realised a few things. I wasn't being fair to you when I only saw my side of the story about wanting to celebrate Christmas here. The truth is I blamed myself for your Omma's death. I felt like it was my fault that she left us so I avoided going back because I was afraid to face the pain all over again. But Uncle Ken said that I need to be strong for you because I'm your only pillar of strength left after Omma is no longer around. I'm sorry for my selfishness. Will you forgive me?" Appa looked down to the ground after his long speech.

I crawled up to Appa and gave him a hug. "You don't have to apologise, Appa. I understand your pain and I'm sorry for not being more patient with it. We'll be the pillar for each other, okay. You can rely on me too, you know." I smiled warmly at Appa went he lifted up his head to look at me.

"Thank you, Jae. Your Omma will be proud of you. You're strong-willed and forgiving, just like her."

"So are we going to Korea?" Boa-unnie suddenly voiced out as I frowned at her and showing a sign, asking her to zip up .

"You know what. Maybe it's time for me to return to face my fears and to pay a visit to the love of my life." Appa said, causing me to looked at him with a shocked expression. "And also the time for me to see the girl who had stolen your heart." Appa pointed at me as I grinned dorkily.

"Let's use my private jet to get there faster. I'll give my pilot a call first." Boa-unnie stood up as she walked away while dialling a number.

"And we need to go and fetch your Uncle Ken from the airport. That old man is still waiting for a plane ticket to fly off. Jae, give him a call and ask him to wait for our next instruction while I'll go and back my luggage. Meet us downstairs in 30mins, Jae."